Winona County home sales in June 2025
WINONA, Minn. – Among residential property sales outside Winona logged by Bob Bambenek, county recorder, in June:
Goodview: 760 36th Avenue: Rasmussen to Hoegh, $375,000.
Lewiston: 590 East Main Street: Menk to DeFrang/Vollendorf, $326,000.
Rushford: 27382 Hart Drive: Heimdahl to Brothers, $475,000.
St. Charles: 154 East Fifth Street: Fenske to Pedretti/Guillien, $340,000.
St. Charles: 1225 Bluff Avenue: Mollee\rt to Fitch/Jenden, $32,000.
Earlier: Winona County home sales in May 2025
Winona County commercial sales: June 2025
WINONA, Minn. – Among commercial property sales in Winona County logged by Bob Bambenek, county recorder, in June:
Winona: 45 Gould Street: Winona State University to Cotter Schools, $1 million (estimated maket vakue $13.3 million.
No others exceeded $1 million in June.
Earlier: WSU’s forlorn Lourdes venture: Final chapter
Earlier: Winona County commercial property sales in April 2025
How they voted: Trump budget /7
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House approved President Trump’s sweeping reforms of U.S. public policy. The vote: 218-214. Two Republicans voted against the bill, as did all 212 House Democrats. The bill now goes to the president’s desk for his signature. Here is a summary of key elements in the 940-page budget document as analyzed by Zachary Wolf and Tami Luhby of CNN:
> Millions of people on Medicaid will lose coverage.
> Fewer people who need help affording food will get it.
> People with Affordable Care Act policies will have more difficulty getting covered.
> People who aren’t on Medicaid, Obamacare or SNAP food stamps may still feel the cuts unless state governments pick up the slack, which most states cannot afford.
>Taxpayers will not notice the tax cut extensions although the wealth will get wealthier.
> Senior citizens will get a temporary tax break.
> People with student loans will have fewer opportunities for deferments or forbearance.
> Private colleges with big endowments: will see a big tax hike.
> Someone buying a car will be able to deduct interest payments
> Parents will get a bigger tax credit for each of their children.
> Babies will get a nest egg from the government.
>Workers who receive tips or overtime pay will get a temporary tax break.
> People planning on solar and wind tax credits: will have to hurry.
> Immigrants will no longer qualify for benefits
> Millionaires who lose their jobs no longer will collect unemployment.
> People worried about the national debt will be unhappy.
> Trump’s border wall finally will be built.
Earlier: How they voted: Trump budget /6
For the record
How the Minnesota and Wisconsin delegations voted:
For Trump budget
> Tom Emmer, R-Mn6 (north suburbs)
> Brad Finstad, R-Mn1 (south)
> Michelle Fischbach, R-Mn7 (rural west)
> Pete Stauber, R-Mn8 (Iron Range)
—
> Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wi5 (Clyman)
> Glen Grothman, R-Wi6 (Campbellsport)\
> Bryan Steil, R-Wi1 (Janesville)
> Tom Tiffany, R-Wi7 (Hazelburst)
> Derrick Van Orden, R-Wi3 (Prairie du Chien)
> Tony Wied, R-Wi8 (DePere)
Against
> Angie Craig, D-Mn2 (south suburbs)
> Betty McCollum, D-Mn4 (St. Paul)
> Kelly Morrison, D-Mn3 (west suburbs)
> Ilhan Omar, D-Mn5 (Minneapolis)
—
> Gwen Moore, D-Wi4 (Milwaukee)
> Mark Pocan, D-Wi2 (Madison)
A genuine Wisconsinite shows his stuff
A lotta beer, a lotta sports. With more than 3,000 beer-bottle caps, Paul Jerrett of Chippewa Falls created a massive mosaic homage to his state, his brews and his favorite teams. Do you see the logos of the Badgers, Packers, Bucks and Brewers? They’re all there. The wall piece is 42 square feet. No, it’s not sale. Image: Katrina Lim
News summary at mid-week July 2, 2025
HEROES: I-90 rest stop drama: Driver rescued as car sinks
GOVERNANCE: Finstad on trans-gender sports: Out of date?
GOVERNANCE: Profs in afternoon protest against Trump budget
GOVERNANCE: How they voted: Trump budget /6
INFERNO: Fire razes house at Pickwick; no injuries
CRIME:Winona police arrest Holmen murder suspect
CRIME: Details emerge in Holmen murder
CRIME: Man murdered in upscale Holmen home
CRIME: Sheriff steams over his jail being bad-mouthed
CRIME: Police make machete arrest in Arcadia brawl
CRIME: Beach brawl bust: LaCrosse teen arrested
JOURNALISM: Paramount pays Trump $16 million in quid pro quo
WILDLIFE: Great nibbling for backyard baby bunny
Beach brawl bust: LaCrosse teen arrested
LACROSSE, Wis. — Police arrested one teenager and were looking for others in a late-night brawl at the city’s sprawling 230-acre Pettibone Park on the Mississippi River. Arrested was Antonio Shaw Jr., 17, who police said fired a gun during brawl. Police arrived late at the park and didn’t have a complete picture of what occurred. Based on what witnesses said, Shaw was charged with:
> Attempted homicide.
> Possession of a firearm as a felon.
> Reckless endangerment.
Apparently no one was wounded. Police were called about 11:15 p.m. Police Chief Shawn Kudron believes there was no continuing danger to the community.
Shaw. Already a felon and thus barred from having a firearm.
Winona police arrest Holmen murder suspect
WINONA, Minn. — A Winona man was arrested on a murder warrant from LaCrosse County for a death Sunday in suburban Holmen. Arrested without resistance was Jacob Andrew Klaver, 38, at his residence in the 750 block of East Fifth Street. At jail Klaver complained about not feeling well and said he hadn’t been taking his prescribed medication. He was taken to the Winona hospital, which referred the case to a LaCrosse hospital. Klaver was transported to La Crosse with a police guard stationed outside his hospital room.
Earlier: Details emerge in Holmen murder
Earlier: Man murdered in upscale Holmen home
Klaver. A trained nurse. Under police guard at Gundersen hospital in LaCrosse.
Fire razes house at Pickwick; no injuries
PICKWICK, Minn. — Fire destroyed a house at this historic Winona County hamlet. No one was injured. Crews responded from rural volunteer fire departments in Dakota, Nodine, Pickwick, Ridgeway and Wilson as well as from Winona 14 miles away. The cause was not determined immediately.
Pickwick profile
Pickwick, population 160, is at the confluence of Big Trout and Little Trout creeks, upstream on County Road 7 from the Mississippi River. The town is known mostly for a six-story water-powered gristmill built from quarried limestone in the 1860s. The mill, with. 20-foot water wheel, produced 100 barrels a day of flour for the Union.
Nothing left. Midafternoon fire. Image: Sue McNally
Paramount pays Trump $16 million in quid pro quo
NEW YORK — Media giant Paramount Global, which owns the CBS television network, will pay Donald Trump $16 million to settle a libel suit. In exchange Trump will approve Paramount’s pending acquisition of Skydance Media under the table – an $8.4 billion mega-merger that requires approval from the Trump-controlled U.S. Justice Department. Critics called the deal a “quid-pro-quo” exchange – legalese for bribery. In recent weeks, amid suspicions that Paramount was about to settle, morale has plummeted at CBS News and the newsrooms of the network’s owned and operated stations:
> Minnesota, WCCO in Minneapolis.
> California: KCBS in Los Angeles, KPIX in San Francisco, KOVR in Sacramento.
> Colorado: KCNC in Denver.
> Florida: WFOR n Miami.
> Illinois: WBBM in Chicago.
> Maryland: WJZ in Baltimore.
> Massachusetts: WBZ in Boston.
> New York: WCBS in New York.
> Pennsylvania: KYW on Philadelphia, KDKA in Pittsburgh.
> Texas: KTVT in Dallas-Fort Worth.
Confidence was also shaken in the journalistic independence and integrity of the network at 228 affiliate stations that carry CBS programming and newscasts.
Earlier: WCCO owner CBS ousts network news chief
Trump shakedown?
Trump claimed he was libeled by how a CBS interview with 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Hariss was edited for the news magazine “60 Minutes.” News media are usually exempted from libels that occur in political coverage. When suits are allowed against news media, courts insist that there be a demonstration of damages. But Trump won the 2024 election — so what are the damages? The settlement doesn’t deal with the merits of Trump’s case or the lack thereof. Indeed, Trump didn’t even seek an apology in the settlement — just the money.
Driver hurt in flaming crash near Hart
WINONA, Minn. – A Winona woman escaped serious injury when her vehicle overturned and was engulfed in flames. Sandra Kay Kauphusman, 60, was airlifted 40 miles to a Rochester hospital. This was about 2 p.m. on the long straight stretch of State Highway 43 between Hart and Interstate 90. Kauphusman was headed north toward Winona, 17 miles away. She lost control of her 23-year-old Toyota 4Runner, which rolled upside down and caught fire. She wasn’t belted, said Winona County deputies. The accident was north of Hartwood Drive.
Finstad on trans-gender sports: Out of date?
WASHINGTON — Southern Minnesota’s representative in Congress, Brad Finstad, weighed on on the high school athletics gender issue. He’s against it. Finstad, a Republican, said he supports the Trump investigation into the Minnesota public policy that bans discrimination based on gender choice. It would be fine with him, Finstad said, if Trump cancelled federal money to Minnesota schools because of the state’s on-discrimnaion policy. Finstad recited the Trump view that it’s physically unfair, even dangerous, for athletes born as boys to compete in girls sports. Both Trump and Finstad are locked into the concept that sports competition needs to be delefined by gender rather than more relevant gender-free criteria like weight.
Cmment: On transgender girls in sports
Verbatim
Finstad: “Girls deserve a fair playing field in competitive sports, which the State of Minnesota has denied them by allowing biological males to take roster positions, scholarships, and even championships away from them. As a dad and husband to strong female athletes, I’m glad to see the Trump Administration upholding fairness and equal opportunities in women’s athletics programs by investigating Minnesota’s continued efforts to undermine Title IX protections against biological men playing on girls’ sports teams.”
Finstad. Mired in 150-year-old fuddy-duddy notion, dating to 1870s, on gender as the defining criterion for athletics.
Profs in afternoon protest against Trump budget
Mankato campus. Faculty and staff union members voice objections to Trump budget. They see grave threat to student aid and higher-ed in general. Also object to Trump’s proposed cuts in medical and nutrition programs.
Concern: A weakened ollege role in a thriving society
WINONA, Minn. — The Trump budget bill moving through Congress poses “an unprecedented threat” to the future of higher education and he U.S. safety net for ordinary people, a statewide professor union said. .Jenna Chernega, president of the Inter-Faculty Organization, called on members to joins other advocacy organizations against the budget. The bill, Chernega said, would dramatically:
> Reshape student financial aid. and jeopardize access for low-income students.
> Cut millions of people from Medicaid and SNAP nutrition benefits.
“From stricter Pell Grant eligibility and the elimination of subsidized loans to new and potentially crippling accountability measures that penalize colleges, these proposals risk making higher education a privilege, not a pathway for all,” Chernega said. “They threaten to reduce access, increase student debt, and undermine the critical role our universities play in fostering a thriving society.”
Earlier: How they voted: Trump budget /6
Chernega. Sociology prof at Winona State University. State IFO president since 2022.
Woman needing power tools accused of theft
WINONA, Minn. – A Rochester woman was stopped by police with $650 of power tools that the Fleet Farm super-hardware store had reported stolen moments earlier. A store detective said the woman had rolled a loaded cart out the door without paying. The detective caught her car plate number as she drove off. This was 4:40 p.m. Charged with was Wendy Jo Ricter, age 44.
Ricter. To jail. Tools returned to store.
Prosecutor: Throw book at Baby Angel mom
WINONA, Minn. – The prosecution team in the Baby Angel homicide case plans to seek a 40-year maximum sentence for the woman accused of killing her newborn daughter and dropping the body in the Mississippi River. It’s become known as the Baby Angel case because the child’s identity remained unknown to investigators for 14 years. Travis Snider, assistant county attorney, niow has filed documents urging Judge Nancy Buytendorp for an aggravated sentence. Under Minesota law Jennifer Nichole Baechle faces a presumptive sentence of 10 years in prison if convicted of second- degree murder. He law, however, allows a judge’s discretion for as much as 40 years. Baechle, has been free on $200,000 bail since being arrested in April. In the new court documents Snider said the baby was especially vulnerable as a newborn and “was treated with particular cruelty.” He acknowledged that it’s unknown whether the baby was alive when put in the river, but, he added, “the disposal of the baby demonstrated sophistication and planning.” He noted “needless trauma” was created for the family who found the body four miles downriver on the shore of a campground. Snider noted too that Baechle hid her involvement for years, including obstruction of the police investigation even as evidence mounted against her.
Earlier: Bail at $200,000 in Baby Angel infanticide
Verbatim
Snider: “The community was traumatized by the victim’s death. Services were held to mourn the victim, and law enforcement was forced to expend resources to discovery defendant’s identity. Defendant continued to live her life in the community and did not take responsibility for her actions.”
Sex misconduct alleged on Viroqua school kids
VIROQUA, Wis. — A Viroqua school library aide has been arrested after an investigation about sexual misdeed with students in Viroqua and elsewhere. Ashley Benson, 33, was taken the Vernon Conty jail. The investigation began in mid-June after a tip about a woman in sexual contact with minors on several occasions in multiple locations, ncludihg in Reedsburg in the next county. The charges:
> Sex assault of student by school staff.
> Sexual assault of child.
> Sex with child age 16 or older.
Benson still showed on the Viroqua Schools website Monday as an elementary school library aide. Her name was later deleted. She worked a second job at a private school.
Benson. From rural Coon Valley in Vernon County.
How they voted: Trump budget /6
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate voted 50-50 to with Vice President JD Vance breaking the tie to pass the Trump spending package 51-50. The package next returns to the House, which narrowly approved an earlier version. As approved by the Senate the bill cuts taxes for rich people and corporations, cripples medical and nutrition programs for poor people and children, and raises the naional debt a record $3.3 trillion. How the Minnesota and Minnesota delegations voted:
For Trump budget
> Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin
Against
> Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin
> Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota
> Tina Smith, D-Minnesota
Earlier: How they voted: Trump budget /5
Details emerge in Holmen murder
HOLMEN, Wis. — A Holmen man was strangled and beaten to death in his upstairs bedroom while his girlfriend was asleep on a downstairs sofa, sources close to the investigation said. Reportedly the woman told police they had an argument earlier. A little after 5 a. m. she went upstairs and found her boyfriend, Josh Pigney, unresponsive. The room was in total disrepair, she said. Power to the house was out. The girlfriend ran to a neighbor’s house and called 911. This was Sunday. Pigney, age 37, was cold to the touch when police arrived. There was lots of blood. Furniture was overturned and broken. A bladeless Dyson fan was busted apart. To officers it appeared that Pigney had been had been bludgeoned and strangled.
Victim profile
Joshua Edward Pigney 37, was well known in motorcycle racing circles. A friend said “his heart belonged to the roar of engines and the smell of motor oil.” He had a natural talent for racing, and his need for speed made him a formidable presence on the track, the friend said: “His love for motor sports was not just a hobby; it was a passion that fueled his zest for life. His heart was most full when he was on the track and the impact he had on the racing community.” He had connections in Westby. Said the friend: He was the kind of guy who lived life on the edge but always took the time to appreciate the scenery. He embodied life-long values of love, kindness and a touch of mischief, y-the friend said.
Pigney. Worked for Red Wing based Rockland Flooring, which manufactures mats for truck and trailer interiors.
Earlier: Man murdered in upscale Holmen hime
Another arrest for Arcadia free-for-all
ARCADIA, Wis. — A second arrest was made for a brawl involving two dozen combatants, many boozed up, at Arcadia’s Memorial Park. Booked for suspicion of battery was Antonia Lorenzo Blas, age 47.
Emergency, fire crews make 43 calls
WINONA, Minn. – The Fire Department reported 28 emergency medical calls plus 15 fire calls in recent days:
> Sunday, June 30: 7 medical calls plus 2 fire calls.
> Saturday, June 29: 1 medical calls\plus 1 fire call.
> Friday, June 28: 3 medical call plus no fire calls.
> Thursday, June 27: 5 medical calls plus 1 fire call.
> Wednesday, June 26: 4 medical calls plus 5 fire calw.s
> Tuesday, June 25: 8 medical call plus 6 fire calls.
Earlier: Emergency, fire crews make 51 callsEmergency, fire crews make 51 calls
Had a car wreck? Here’s someone to seek out
WINONA Minn. – A Minnesota State Southeast College student, Nick Uitto, earned first place in the state Skills USA Auto Body Competition and advanced to the national competition. Uitto is from Ashland, Wisconsin. The competition was at the 3M Skills Development Center in St. Paul.
I-90 rest stop drama: Driver rescued as car sinks
DRESBACH, Minn. — A Massachusetts traveler jumped into the Mississippi River at the Dresbach rest stop and pulled a semi-conscious man from a sinking car. The man had crashed down a steep embankment after suffering a seizure at the wheel. Dustin Leaning witnessed the crash, jumped into the river, forced open the driver door, pulled out the stricken driver, and carried him to shore. The driver was taken 12 miles to a LaCrosese hospital. By the time that Winona County deputies arrived at the rest stop, off Interstate 90 at the Minnesota-Wiscosin bridge, just below the Lock and Dam 7 gates, the car was fully submerged. Dustin Leaning, 32, and Brittany Pashkow. 31, of Boston, had just parked their live-in travel camper at the rest stop when they saw the car roll into the river. This was about 12:05 p.m. Leaning ran across the parking lot to the river and jumped in. Pashkow dialed 911. Winona County Sheriff Ron Ganrude called Leaning and Pashkow heroes: “They were in the right place at the right time and took immediate action.” The couple, who are intrepid travelers and adventurers, continued on their their way.
Pashow and Leaning. Image from an earlier trip to U.S. parks and other travel destinations.
Steep grassy embankment, Wher car splashed into Mississippi.
Notable journalism
Gabriel Hathaway (Winona Post, May 5, 2025): “New Meat Processor Looks to Build on Legacy”
Lisa Mascara (Associated Press, June 28, 2025): “Senate Republicans Advance Trump’s Big Budget Bill after Dramatic Procedural Vote”
Joe Nelson (Bring Me the News, June 28, 2025):”’This Is Not a Hotel’: Sheriff Rips Jail Complaints by Accused Assassin Vance Boelter”
Great nibbling for backyard baby bunny
Too absolutely delectable to be camera shy. He’s undeterred not even for a second from his discovery of an overgrown patch of sedum in the shade of lavender spirea and lilacs. He’s only a few hops away from his comfy nest in the rushes along Peterson Creek near the Arches. But he’s in no rush for home at the moment. Image: Steve Lunde
Truck, boat trailer back to dry land
Brakes didn’t hold? Wrong gear? A truck and boat trailer were towed out of the Mississippi River after becoming fully submerged several days. Tuss was at the La Crescent Sportsman’s boat landing. No injuries occurred. Image: LaCrescent police
Upscale Piggy’s dining place in new hands
LACROSSE, Wis. — After 46 years LaCrosse restaurateur, Chris Roderique is hanging up his chef’s toque. Roderique, age 63, announced his retirement and the sale of his classy Piggy’s in the old Front Street warehouse district. He had operated Piggy’s since 2001 and built following for, some say, the best prime rib in town. Roderique is selling to Mitchel Weber and Katie Iceler, who operate the next-door Sagrra food and wine bar that features rustic Roman and Italian fare. Weber and Iceler said they plan to maintain Piggy’s fine-dining reputation.
Roderique. Packing up his knives.
In old Pioneer Foundry, built in 1871. At 501 Front Street South.
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